‘Million Dollar Arm’ corny, but it works
Print Edition
LET’S face it: There’s something about a baseball movie that invites corniness. The hardest hearts soften at the mere sound of a cracking bat. It’s hard for a filmmaker to resist laying the syrup on too thick.
And so it is with the Disney film “Million Dollar Arm,” which makes a direct, uncomplicated, er, pitch for your heart — a pitch that will probably hit its mark, despite your best instincts telling you this movie should really be subtler.
Oh well. Somehow, this flaw doesn’t feel like the biggest crime — especially when you have a high-quality cast. That starts with Jon Hamm, who by virtue of his well-known charisma, makes a good case for his future film career, now that his days as Don Draper on TV’s “Mad Men” are sadly ending.
Like Draper, Hamm’s character here, the real-life sports agent JB Bernstein (the film’s based on a true story), has a certain narcissism at his core. Unlike Draper, however, this isn’t a deeply drawn character. Whatever faults he displays at the beginning (he prefers to date sexy models, and he wants to make money — oh no!) are pretty much cured by the end.
In any case, the best parts of the story are actually not about Bernstein, but about the two young Indian men he brings to America in hopes of creating the next baseball sensation and opening up a huge, untapped market in the world’s second most populous country.
Hence the title, “Million Dollar Arm,” which is the contest that Bernstein devises to find his young stars. As the film begins, Bernstein and his partner Ash are searching for ways to revive their flagging business. One night, Bernstein comes up with the idea to find cricket players who might be able to pitch a baseball.
Thus begins a picturesque journey through the Indian countryside — making for director Craig Gillespie’s most compelling visuals. Most of the young men they find can’t pitch worth a darn. But ultimately they come across Dinesh (the handsome Madhur Mittal, of “Slumdog Millionaire”) and Rinku (the soulful Suraj Sharma, who starred in “Life of Pi.”) Neither is actually a cricket player. But no matter — they can throw.
Will the two players overcome their lack of training, their nervousness, and the cynical baseball press corps to have their moment of glory? Will Bernstein realize that there’s something more important than making money?
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